Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...But the first rule of parody is to move it along — saw off the arm, undress the fellow secretary, lampoon the patriarchy and move directly to the next scene. Alas, "The Secretaries" has a habit of lingering far too long, disappearing into the cluttered set and fiddling with the props. Lengthy transitions, and some lack of comfort with the text, push the running time closer to two hours when it really needs to be 90 minutes."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Bonnie Metzgar's pitch-perfect staging for About Face Theatre benefits from performers who play it straight (so to speak) instead of winking at the zany material. As the office ringleader, a fully committed Kelli Simpkins is as sleek and eerie as David Bowie's Thin White Duke."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The Secretaries was written in 1994, and its references to SlimFast shakes and scenes in video stores fell all the more satirical two decades later. Bonnie Metzgar’s staging for About Face, the play’s Chicago premiere, gets the tone just right in sending up pop-culture tropes of hyperfemininity and lesbianism alike. Metzgar’s gleefully committed cast, which also includes Sadieh Rifai and Lauren Sivak, is near ideal; it’s especially fun to see Simpkins, who often tends toward earthy, no-nonsense types, going dark as taskmistress Susan. But at nearly two hours without an intermission, the production can feel a bit slack and repetitive in places. You might wish the Brothers had taken a few more slices at the script."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...It seems likely that The Secretaries was originally meant to satirize depictions of lesbians in trashy horror movies and paperbacks, but such things have faded so much in the public conscious that the whole story just comes across as random and inexplicable. And they don't even use the chainsaw."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...This isn’t a play for everyone’s taste. But for those liberal theatergoers who like their comedy dark, bombastic and on the spicy side, with a fair amount of violence and gore thrown in, this is the show for them. It’s an hour and forty-five minutes of pure escape entertainment that’s tongue-in-cheek lesbian lit comedy meeting passionate, pulpy potboiler."
The Fourth Walsh - Not Recommended
"...At one point, everyone is in their underwear. What? What? Why? I just didn't get the point of this play. It feels like The Brothers wrote it under-the-influence, hungry and without the ability to tell each other 'that's a dumb idea. It won't work.' The premise might make a funny 5 minute SNL skit. If it was more gory, I'd say it might work as a late night show for a drinking crowd. If Hell in a Handbag gave it a drag spin, it might find its campy essences. But this current production? Take a memo, THE SECRETARIES is a pass. I can't recommend seeing it."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Though inconsistent, The Secretaries is a bloody good time. About Face's latest makes for a fun night out with your most twisted friends (and we all have them). Grab a few drinks, tuck in and wait patiently through exposition and setup for some genuinely funny jokes and an even funnier cast."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...And fierce women are what The Secretaries has in spades, and despite any quirks there may be in the show's overall foundation, I say give this particular college production a chance. About Face is a company that does have something to say. And with those sentiments in mind, maybe now is the time for us to finally listen to those damned intellectual, smartass friends of ours."
PlaylistHQ - Highly Recommended
"...The soundtrack for the play is pulled directly from 80's movies and television. For example, True by Spandau Ballet was featured in Sixteen Candles (1984) and Broken Wings by Mr Mister from Miami Vice(1984-1990). These songs create an atmosphere of raw emotion at the right points and pure joy at others. It's a delightfully fun campy tribute to 80's horror movies filled with feminist satire. The audience is constantly engaged, whether they are laughing or shocked at what is happening. It's an absolute whirlwind and incredible entertaining."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...For as funny as this play is, it also charts the meeting point between female friendship and cultural expectations, the latter often driving a wedge between the former."
